IUSD is gearing up for a dedication ceremony that’s more than two decades in the making.
Some 26 years after it was first proposed, a brand new 2,940-seat stadium now occupies four acres on the north end of University High School, serving as the home field for the Uni Trojans and the Woodbridge High School Warriors. On Friday, Oct. 11, with Uni’s football team hosting Woodbridge in a big crosstown matchup, school leaders will be joined by district staff, current and former members of the IUSD Board of Education and a handful of local dignitaries for a special halftime program to formally dedicate the facility.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m., so expect the halftime ceremony to begin sometime around 8.
University High opened back in 1970, but it wasn’t until 1987 that a master plan specifically included a stadium. The years that followed brought studies, delays, meetings, more delays, impassioned community pleas, school board votes and even two lawsuits.
Construction began on the $8.4 million venue last fall, followed by a brief groundbreaking ceremony. A year later, on Sept 6, the completed stadium hosted its first-ever football game, with Woodbridge taking the field against Lancaster High. Six days later, on Sept. 12, Uni had its turn in a game against Laguna Beach.
Along with nearly 3,000 seats, the new stadium boasts home and visitor restrooms, a ticket booth, a concession stand, elevated lighting, a press box, FieldTurf brand synthetic turf -- that’s the kind used by a number of NFL teams -- and a synthetic nine-lane track.
The Oct. 11 game is scheduled as a home game for Uni, but we have no doubt there will be plenty of fans from both schools -- as well as scores of proud community members who helped make the long-promised athletic facility a reality.
Uni High is located at 4771 Campus Drive in Irvine. Tickets are $8 for general admission and $5 for senior citizens, children up through the eighth grade (with their parents, of course) and Woodbridge High students with ASB cards. Uni students with ASB cards get in free.